Quick release goalie pad attachment

ABSTRACT

Quick and reliable attachment of a goalie leg pad to a goalie skate is achieved by providing a fastener semi-permanently attached to the pad and releasably secured to an attachment point on the goalie skate. The fastener is suitable for use by goalies of all ages and abilities.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to goalie equipment used in ice hockey and in particular to an improved attachment mechanism for coupling the leg pads to the skates worn by goalies.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Goaltenders in ice hockey wear protective gear uniquely designed to protect the goaltender from the high impact force of a puck while at the same time, allowing the goaltender sufficient flexibility of movement to prevent the puck from entering the goal. In particular, the goalie's skates and leg pads must work together to form a single system for both blocking the puck from entering the goal and protecting the goalie's feet and legs from the potentially bruising impact force of the puck. Goalie leg pad designs and materials have advanced significantly in recent years. The pads are more flexible and responsive to the goaltender's movements than the pads from ten years ago. Further, the new pads provide better protection for the player. However, prior art systems used to couple the lower portion of the leg pad to the skate have proven to be less than ideal.

Currently, the connection between the skate and leg pad is accomplished in one of two ways. One way is to couple one end of a leather strap to one side of the bottom of pad and to couple a buckle to the other side of the bottom of the pad. The free end of the strap is then passed between the boot and blade of the skate and secured using the buckle. This arrangement suffers from two problems. First, youth hockey players find it difficult to use this arrangement. Also, the strap and buckles break when subjected to the moisture and forces associated with the game of hockey, making the pads unusable until expensive repairs are made.

More recently, this strap and buckle arrangement was replaced by the use of an elongated lace, similar to a skate lace. Such goalie leg pads are sold with a skate lace specifically to perform this function of joining the bottom of the pad to the skate. The lace is woven through one or more eyelets in the toe bridge region on the pad scoop of the leg pad. The lace is then tied in a variety of knots and bows to fasten the pad to the skate with the appropriate length of lace to permit the goalie to flare or rotate the skate while maintaining an appropriate direction of the pad face.

Several problems exist with this lace system. Again, youth hockey players find it difficult to use. They have difficulty manipulating and tying the lace. Also, at even the high school, college, or professional level, the lace can become untied during play. This results in a loss of connection and control between the skate and the pad hindering not only the movement of the goalie, but also the ability of the equipment to rotate properly. An untied lace, if stepped on by the goalie or another player, can also send the player crashing to the ice resulting in injury.

The tendency for the lace to come untied is especially problematic for younger athletes. Often times, when the lace becomes untied, young players are not skilled enough to make the appropriate adjustments or bend over to retie the lace with all the other goalie equipment in place. Lengthy timeouts are required during a practice or game while a lace, now soaked with water from the ice, is retied. This results in costly waste of ice time during a practice session or game. As any youth hockey parent knows, ice time is precious and expensive.

Each of the prior configurations represents an unsatisfactory mechanism for creating an attachment between the skate and pad scoop region of a goalie leg pad. The prior art configurations also fail to provide the desired level of control for delivering directional force to the pad scoop of the leg pad. Therefore, the pad scoop tends to lag slightly behind the foot movement or is simply out of position. Only slight changes in position between the skate and the pad scoop can mean the difference between to goalie making a save or allowing a goal.

The present invention provides a quick and convenient method and mechanism for fastening the skate to the pad and overcomes each of the disadvantages of the prior art systems discussed above.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The objective of the present invention is to provide an improved mechanism for connecting the goalie's leg pad to the goalie's skate.

Goalie skates typically include a boot, a cowling, and a blade. The cowling is a hardened protective composite covering that encases the lower portion of the boot. The goalie skate of the present invention further includes an attachment point. This attachment point is typically located at the toe portion of the cowling or on the front portion of the skate blade. The attachment point may be configured in a variety of different ways.

The goalie leg pad of the present invention generally covers and extends from several inches above the knee down to and over the boot of the skate. A section of the leg pad, referred to as the pad scoop, extends over the boot of the skate. The pad scoop further includes a toe bridge positioned at or near the skate toe when the athlete wears both pieces of equipment. The toe bridge (or pad scoop) typically includes at least one eyelet.

The present invention also provides a quick release, removable fastener to connect the leg pad to the attachment point of the skate. When in use, one end of the fastener is semi-permanently secured to the goalie pad via the eyelets. The other end of the fastener is releasably secured to the attachment point. The fastening element may vary in size and configuration, but optimally will maintain approximately a two inch distance between the skate and the pad scoop at the toe bridge.

The present invention is designed to permit a quick, easy to use, and reliable connection between the leg pad and the skate. The configuration of the fastener and the attachment point provides the desired convenience and easy access long desired by the athlete for effectively providing the functional connection and responsive performance between the skate and pad.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating one embodiment of the fastening region for a goalie skate toe portion comprising an integrally formed horizontal bar structure within an ovoid orifice at or near the toe cowl.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating one embodiment of the fastening region for a goalie skate toe portion comprising a horizontal cutout structure fastening region at or near the toe cowl.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating one embodiment of the fastening region for a goalie skate toe portion comprising a vertical cutout structure fastening region at or near the toe cowl.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating one embodiment of the fastening region for a goalie skate toe portion comprising an independent generally vertical tab containing an orifice at or near the leading generally vertical edge of the tab.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating one embodiment of the fastening region for a goalie skate wherein an orifice is located on the skate blade and positioned at or near the vertical front edge of the skate blade.

FIGS. 6 a-c each are a front view illustrating the various common configurations for goalie pad toe bridges.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT

Although the invention is described below with illustrative embodiments, it is understood that the invention may be practiced in a variety of configurations that involve numerous alterations, deletions, and additions without departing from the inventive concept.

FIG. 1 is illustrative of one embodiment of a goalie skate made in accordance with the present invention. The goalie skate includes a boot (not shown), a blade 20 and a cowling 30. The illustrated skate cowling 30 is for the left skate. The right skate is the mirror image of the cowling 30 pictured and contains all of the same elements detailed herein. The cowling 30 may be constructed from any material that satisfies the functional requirements for impact and manufacturability.

The toe portion 30 a of the cowling 30 includes an orifice 40. The orifice 40 may be of any shape and size that satisfies the structural and functional requirements for this particular application. For example, the orifice 40 may be circular, ovoid, square, or rectangular. The toe portion 30 a further comprises an attachment point 50 crossing the orifice 40. The attachment point 50 may be integrally formed with the cowling 30 a or may be a separate element formed from a metal, metal alloy, plastics or the like.

As shown, one possible structure for attachment point 50 is a bar 52 that bisects the orifice 40. While the bar 52 is shown running horizontally, bar 52 may also run vertically within the orifice 40 and still function properly. The bar 52 traverses, the orifice 40 and creates the attachment point 50 in a fastening region 54. Ideally, the bar 52 resides sufficiently behind the outer most portion of the tow portion 30 a so that a shot puck will not contact the bar 52 and potentially break the bar 52.

FIG. 1 also shows a fastener, generally indicated as 60, made in accordance with the present invention. The fastener 60 includes a first clip 62. The clip 62 comprises a hook 62 a with pressure locking mechanism 62 b. The clip 62 further includes a swivel mechanism 62 c. The pressure locking mechanism 62 b allows for easy connection and removal of the clip 62 to the attachment point 50. As illustrated, there is ample space within the orifice 40 and around the exposed section of the attachment point 50 to accommodate quick and easy attachment of the first clip 62 to the attachment point 50. The orifice 40, however, should also be small enough so a puck cannot penetrate the orifice and reach either the bar or the player's toes. The fastener 60 further includes a second clip 63. The second clip comprises a flexible elongated member 63 a and a locking member 63 b. The locking member 63 b preferably includes a male threaded portion attached to one end of the flexible elongated member 63 a and a female threaded portion attached to the other end of elongated member 63 a. As shown in FIG. 6 c, the elongated member 63 a is inserted through eyelets 115 in the goalie pad and the male and female portions of locking member 63 b are joined together to secure the removable fastener element 60 to the pad in semi-permanent fashion.

FIG. 2 shows an alternative embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the attachment point 50 is a horizontal structure 51 integrally formed within the cowling 30 a. Extending through the horizontal structure 51 is a channel 51 a. The channel 51 a is sized to receive the hook 62 a of the first clip 62.

FIG. 3 shows another suitable embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, attachment point 50 is a vertical structure 53 integrally formed within the toe portion 30 a. The vertical structure 53 has a thickness that will accommodate a channel 53 a bored through the structure. The channel 53 a is sized to receive the hook 62 a of the first clip 62.

Another suitable embodiment is shown in FIG. 4. In FIG. 4, attachment point 50 is a vertical structure 58 integrally formed with and a part of the toe portion 30 a. The vertical structure 58 has a thickness that will accommodate a channel 58 a bored through the structure. The channel 58 a is again sized to receive the hook 62 a of the first clip 62

Still another alternative embodiment is shown in FIG. 5. In this embodiment the attachment point is generally identified as 80 and comprises an orifice 81 extending through the front portion of skate blade 90, i.e. positioned immediately adjacent the generally vertical front edge 93 of the skate blade as opposed to further back along the blade such as openings 94 and 95.

FIGS. 6 a-c shows three different toe bridge arrangements commonly used on goalie pads. In each, the toe bridge region is generally identified as 110. FIG. 6 a depicts a configuration wherein the attachment eyelets 115 are placed directly into the pad scoop 120. FIG. 6 b depicts a configuration wherein attachment eyelets are placed in a toe bridge tab 130. FIG. 6 b also shows an alternative embodiment of fastener 60. In this embodiment, the locking member 63 b has been replaced with a pair of removable stops 64 that are attached to the opposite ends of the flexible elongated member 63 a after the ends have been passed through the corresponding eyelets. The stops 64 cooperate with the eyelets to retain the elongated flexible member 63 a in an attached relationship to the pad. These stops 64 can either be threaded, snapped or clamped onto the ends of the flexible elongated member 63 a and can also be used to adjust the distance between the two stops along the flexible elongated member 63 a to ensure that a desired maximum distance between the pad and the portion of the cowling is maintained. Finally, FIG. 6 c depicts a configuration where a reinforced attachment slot 140 is placed in the toe bridge tab 130. Eyelets 115 are located within and move within the slot. In each case, the eyelets 115 receive the flexible member 63 a of clip 63 and are used to thereby semi-permanently join the fastener 60 to the pad scoop 120. With the fastener 60 thus attached to the pad scoop 120, the player puts on the skate and pad and then quickly secures the pad to the skate by clipping the first clip 62 to the attachment point 50. 

1. A goalie skate comprising: (a) a boot; (b) a cowling covering a portion of the boot and having a toe portion; (c) a blade having a front portion; and (d) an attachment point located at either the toe portion of the cowling or the front portion of the blade.
 2. The goalie skate of claim 1 wherein the attachment point comprises a hole through the front portion of the blade.
 3. The goalie skate of claim 1 wherein said attachment point is integrally molded with the cowling.
 4. The goalie skate of claim 1 wherein said attachment point comprises an orifice in the toe portion of the cowling and a bar extending across said opening.
 5. The goalie skate of claim 1 wherein said attachment point comprises a structure integrally formed with the toe portion of the cowling and a channel extending through said structure.
 6. Protective equipment worn by a hockey goalie comprising: (a) a goalie leg pad having at least one eyelet; (b) a skate comprising a boot, a cowling covering a portion of the boot and having a toe portion, a blade having a front portion, and an attachment point located at either the toe portion of the cowling or the front portion of the blade, and (c) a removable fastening element comprising (i) an elongated element extending through said at least one eyelet and semi-permanently coupled to said goalie leg pad, and (ii) a clip coupled to the elongated element and releasably fastened to said attachment point to join said goalie leg pad to said skate.
 7. The protective equipment of claim 6 wherein said clip includes a swivel.
 8. The protective equipment of claim 6 wherein said clip comprises a hook and a pressure locking mechanism.
 9. The protective equipment of claim 6 wherein said attachment point comprises a hole through the front portion of the blade.
 10. The protective equipment of claim 6 wherein said attachment point is integrally molded with the cowling.
 11. The protective equipment of claim 6 wherein the attachment point comprises an orifice in the toe portion of the cowling and a bar extending across said opening.
 12. The protective equipment of claim 6 wherein said attachment point comprises a structure integrally formed with the toe portion of the cowling and a channel extending through said structure. 